Saturday, July 31, 2021

Reading The Legal Tea Leaves

The sentiment that Twitter can’t convey nuance is quite true, and as applicable to the law as to medicine. The problem with that statement is that Treasury is not “holding off,” it is party to a lawsuit over releasing the tax returns. The OLC opinion is advisory only (just like the one that says they can’t prosecute a sitting POTUS). It is not determinative, especially when there is a court involved.

Treasury is playing to the court here, fully aware the court is not going to grant a peremptory release of the tax returns. This is, in other words, how lawsuits are done. Treasury is not “holding off,” Treasury is acting like a party to pending lawsuit. The problem is people who thought the OLC memo was the last word on this. It’s just another brick in the wall.
This is the result of Treasury “holding off.” Matters are moving forward as they should be. The court deadline of August 4, after all, is only Wednesday.

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